What is the best cookbook?

Dear BA Foodist,

I love to cook and have all the classic cookbooks, from Mastering the Art of French Cooking to The Silver Palate Cookbook to The Zuni Café Cookbook. What cookbook do you consider the best?

—Dana Dietrich, Hoboken, NJ

Dear Dana,

The book I return to again and again—my desert-island cookbook—is actually 28 volumes. Cheating, of course, but when I need to know how to bone and stuff a whole oxtail or prepare crackling for a British-style roast, I reach for The Good Cook series.

Published between 1979 and 1983, these volumes are organized by major ingredients or style of cooking (Breads, Cookies & Crackers, Hors d'Oeuvre, Fish, Pork) and follow a similar format: 80 pages of step-by-step techniques and preparations, followed by another 80 pages of recipes. But what makes the books so remarkable (dare I say "genius"?) are the amazingly detailed photos that accompany each cooking method, as well as the collection of previously published recipes—from well-known authors and out-of-print books—that tap the world's culinary traditions. Richard Olney, Chez Panisse mentor and legendary cookbook author, served as the chief consultant for the series and considered the project his legacy.

Unfortunately, The Good Cook series is out of print, but you can easily find it for sale at used-book stores and on the Internet. It deserves a place on the bookshelf of every serious food lover.